Bank and ATM Fees for International Travel

New Bank and ATM Fees Imposed on International Withdrawals ATM fees were once a hassle that was only reserved for when I would visit my home country, the USA. I could once travel the world over and not worry about ever paying an ATM fee — those little machines just ate and then spat back [...]

ATM fees were once a hassle that was only reserved for when I would visit my home country, the USA. I could once travel the world over and not worry about ever paying an ATM fee — those little machines just ate and then spat back out my card along with a wad of cash without ever taking any funds for themselves. My bank also once absorb all charges for each international transaction. In point, I once could take out money from just about any country and not expect to pay anything for the service.

ATM machines now take fees from international users

This lasted for about 7 years of travel. Then, around three or four years ago, I noticed something new when I looked at a bank statement: I was now being charged one dollar to three fifty per international ATM transaction — more or less 1%. What the f’ck, this is new?

So I called up my bank, these extra fees were taking out over $10 a month from my travel funds — and $10 was, more or less, one entire day of travel.

“We use to absorb the charges from Visa but we don’t do this anymore. It is Visa charging you, not us.”

Then so be it.

There was nothing I could do — one more little fee nibbling away at my lowly funds, this is the plight of the modern traveler.

Accept, pay, and move on.

I have not thought about these 1% international bank transaction fees until it grew to my attention that many banks throughout the world have begun charging fees to use their ATM machines.

This is new.

If I take out money at an ATM in Mexico, I pay between $1.75 and $5 for the transaction, depending on the bank or if the machine is in a private establishment. These Mexican ATMs work just as they do in the USA — the machine charges you for taking out money. This money goes directly to the bank that operates the ATM, and the 1% fee from Visa is added right on top of this. So when I take out money here — I generally pay nearly $5 in fees from making a standard $300 withdrawal.

These ATM fees are more or less a new phenomenon in world travel. Dave at TheLongestWayHome.com reports that banks in the Philippines just started charging for international withdrawals from their ATMs. Currently, the fee is around $4.50, with the maximum amount that you can withdraw for most banks in a single transaction being around $100. Craig from Travelvice.com reports that in 2009 banks in Thailand began charging $4.50 for an ATM withdrawal of any amount from an international user, and that this fee has now climbed to nearly $5.

Argentina now wages ATM fees on international users, half of Chile’s banks do as well, and I fear that this trend may spread all over the world: all banks, everywhere, are primed to begin charging international users fees to use their ATMs.

And why wouldn’t they?

But I stand in shock that the fees are starting out so high: in a world where $5 is enough for a day’s worth of food in most countries, it is a crazy price to pay for a single ATM transaction.

I can see the oncoming trend:

Hey, if these tourists pay $5 for an ATM transaction, then why wouldn’t they pay $10?

And what else would we do? Grimace, pay, and try to forget.

Or revitalize the shoebox. Archaic methods of money transport may soon be called upon once again. Free international banking transactions without ATM fees have perhaps been too good for too long for the modern traveler.

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This article is part of a series of pieces assembled together under the title, The Extermination of the Backpacker. They are just reports on recent trends in world travel, and projections on how things could become for the long term traveler in the future. They are not meant to cry wolf, scare you, or discourage you from traveling, they are just the analysis of the changes that I have witnessed from over a decade of international travel. Each year, more and more little fees, taxes, and tolls are either being levied or raised on the international traveler for items and services we once received for free or for drastically less money. This is just a series of articles that compile trends and changes from the past few years that affect the traveler and makes projections for the oncoming decade.

If things continue as they have been for the past couple of years, we are looking at a much more restrictive and expensive world for traveling. But I can’t despair, as I believe that when one door closes another will open. The Open Road is still, and always shall be, a great place to live.

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Wade Shepard is the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. He has been traveling the world since 1999, through 83 countries. He is the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China, and contributes to Forbes, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. Wade Shepard has written 3223 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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Wade Shepard is an itinerant writer who has been traveling the world since 1999, through 83 countries. He is the author of Ghost Cities of China, a regular contributor to Forbes, Citiscope, The Diplomat, and the South China Morning Post. This is his personal blog where he shares the stories from his travels that don’t fit in anywhere else.